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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ground · chest · tube · spell · pass · patient · drill · mug

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. drill — a practice
  4. ground — a position
  5. spell — letters
  6. ground — the earth
  7. spell — magic
  8. mug — a cup
  9. mug — a face
  10. mug — to rob
  11. drill — army training
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. drill — the tool
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. ground — crushed
  17. chest — of your body
  18. spell — a short time
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. pass — a permit
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. tube — the underground
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. tube — in a tire

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com